Breaking Down
by Sweet Lunacy
Summary: After the suicide of Walker Stevenson, Doug finds himself alienating himself from everyone. Can anyone reach him, and will he even allow it? DougDorothy TomDoug friendship. Better than summary.
1. Breathing Space

**A/N: Well, after watching the episode dealing with the suicide of Doug's mother, I was inspired to write this. It switches POV's, but it's fairly easy to follow. The title is taken from the song "Breaking Down" by Gina Nemo (AKA Dorothy). Reviews are love. **

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><p>Though the phone kept ringing and shattered the eerie silence in the apartment, Doug Penhall never moved from his position on the couch. Yes, he reasoned with himself, he probably <em>should<em> have moved and answered, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He knew who was on the other end, and if he was honest with himself, it was someone he had no interest in speaking to.

"Doug, answer the phone. I know you're there."

Sure enough, Dorothy's voice filled the apartment, and Doug sighed to himself. There was a moment's silence as she waited to see if he would pick up. When he didn't, she continued.

"Douglas. Pick up the damn phone. I know you haven't been to work the last couple of days, and you aren't returning anyone's calls. Everyone is starting to get worried. Hanson's been on my case day and night."

Typical Dorothy. Everything was his fault. Nothing he ever did was enough for her. Yet, he loved her. Although _why _he loved her was unclear even to him at times. As she kept speaking, however, something in her voice changed, and his head snapped up.

"Doug…I'm worried about you too. Please call me. I need to know that you're alright. I love you."

Interesting. Very interesting. She actually _sounded_ worried. Of course, she wasn't heartless, she was just very demanding. The phone began to ring again, and he sighed. Would she never give up? Still, he decided to let the machine answer.

"Hey, Penhall, it's Hanson. Dorothy just called me and said you didn't answer when she called. Again. She's really starting to get worried. She even came down to the chapel looking for you. Ioki and Hoffs are worried and so am I. If you don't want to talk to Dorothy, fine. But would you at least talk to me? I'm worried, man."

Penhall sighed and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes. He wasn't ready to deal with anyone, though from the sound of it, Dorothy had been more worried than she was willing to let on. How amusing. After Walker had committed suicide, he had been thinking about the subject more and more. Not his own, certainly, but that of his mother. He had never truly forgiven her for what she'd done. The only people that knew were Hanson and of course Dorothy. No one though, not even Dorothy, understood how he felt, and he doubted that anyone ever would.

The phone rang again, and he plopped face down on the couch.

"Douglas! Pick. Up. The. Phone. Now."

He sighed, and reached over.

"Yes, Dorothy?"

"Doug! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dorothy."

"Good. Now…why haven't you answered my calls? Or Hanson's? Do you know how worried I've been?"

He sighed, and on the other end, he heard Dorothy do the same. He could almost see her rolling her eyes with that annoyed expression he had grown so accustomed to seeing.

"No, Dorothy, I don't. Why don't you tell me?"

"I went to every bar and fast food joint in town looking for you! I even went to the chapel searching for your sorry ass."

"I know. Tom told me."

"Hanson! You talk to Hanson, but you won't talk to me?"

"No. I didn't talk to him. He left a message."

Dorothy took a breath and Doug braced himself.

"When?"

"Today."

"Doug, you need to get back to work, you need to talk to me, you need—"

He slammed the receiver down, cutting off her voice, and buried his head in the pillows, hoping that when he woke in the morning, things would improve. Somehow, he doubted it.


	2. This Means War

The sound of the receiver being slammed down made Dorothy absolutely furious. How dare he hang up on her? Frowning, she picked up the phone and dialed a number she barely knew and waited with bated breath.

"Hanson."

"Tom?"

"Dorothy?"

She laughed nervously.

"Yeah. Um, listen. I, uh, I talked to Doug."

"How is he?" the relief in Hanson's voice was unmistakable.

Dorothy paused, unsure of what to say. She knew Hanson was close to Doug, and deserved the truth, but how could she be sure that he wouldn't overreact?

"Bad," she answered, opting for the truth.

She paused again, knowing that she had to confide in someone, and soon.

"Tom…I'm scared. He sounded so…dead."

"I didn't think the dead had a sound," he pointed out amusedly.

She shrugged, knowing but not caring that he couldn't see. She absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger, trying to distract herself from the uneasiness that was closing in around her. On his end of the line, Hanson could almost feel her nervousness and sighed.

"Do you think he'd answer if I went over?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"Wait…where are you? Don't you live with Doug?"

"Well, yeah, but after our fight, I left and when I came back and he was gone, I went looking for him. I got back and the door was locked and he'd taken the spare key. I figured I'd crash at my cousin's place for a bit," Dorothy explained.

Hanson sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. The straw he had between his teeth bobbed up and down as he chewed nervously. He knew that Doug was dealing with a lot concerning the death of his mother, but he doubted if Doug knew what this was doing to Dorothy. From what he knew of her, she could be harsh, loud and she didn't like people to see her softer side, but it was obvious she was really worried. She cared about Doug, hell, maybe she even loved him, and Hanson couldn't stand the thought of anyone losing the person they loved, especially to their own pain. He knew what losing a girlfriend or relative was like. It had happened with Amy…

Dorothy noticed Hanson's silence and cleared her throat.

"Hanson?"

"Sorry. I was thinking. Dorothy, why don't you stay where you are and I'll try to see if he'll answer me."

Dorothy smiled gratefully, her first true smile in days, and thought it was a shame that no one was around to see it.

"Thanks, Tom. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

The soft _click_ told her that he had hung up, and she ran a hand through her dark hair. She picked up the phone and dialed Doug's number, the one she had memorized long ago, and waited.

"_This is Doug Penhall. Please leave a message."_

"Doug, I'm sorry I didn't think your joke was funny. Listen, Hanson's on his way over, so would you let him in? And…I miss you. So, uh, if I come back, would you, uh, you know…let me in, too?"


	3. Collide

Tom Hanson tried to keep his thoughts from racing as he drove the short distance from his apartment to Doug's. If he was as bad as Dorothy had said, he didn't know what to expect. He parked his mustang and unhooked his seatbelt, taking in a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing…"

The door swung open, and only Tom's eyes revealed his shock. Dorothy had been right: Doug was a mess, to say the least.

"Knew you'd be here," Doug muttered.

"How?"

He pointed to the machine and Tom was confused. As an answer, Doug walked over and pressed _Play_. Dorothy's last message began to play again. As her words came to an end, Tom smiled sadly.

"See, Doug? She's worried. We all are. Why won't you talk to me? Why won't you let Dorothy back in?"

"Because I don't want her here," Doug snapped.

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you do. You love her."

Doug whirled around to face him, anger flashing in his eyes. Tom had seen this look before and knew it was best to wait out the storm.

"I do _not_ love her! She's cold, she's manipulative, she always has to have her way. Nothing I do is ever good enough for her. She's never satisfied with anything I do. No matter what I do, she's always putting me down, and—and…I love her. She doesn't love me, though."

"Then why did I come back?"

The voice was soft, and Tom turned to find Dorothy standing in the doorway. If he looked close enough, he would have sworn there were tears in her eyes, and she was staring at Doug with a pained expression. Doug, however, refused to look her way, instead looking to Tom for help. Not knowing what he should do, Tom shrugged and turned to Dorothy.

"I'll be outside."

She nodded, her eyes never leaving Doug's face. Tom stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Though he knew he should give his partner privacy, he couldn't help listening to the voices coming through the door.

"Doug?"

There was no answer.

"Doug!" Dorothy's voice was angry now.

"Yes, Dorothy?"

"Do you really think that? That I don't love you? That I'm never satisfied or proud of you?"

Tom winced at the obvious and undisguised pain in her voice. He didn't know if Doug noticed it, but it was almost too much for him to hear. The door opened, and Dorothy stormed out, without looking back. Tom reached out and touched her shoulder.

"What happened?"

She whirled around, her eyes flashing dangerously, and Tom almost wished he had left when he had the chance.

"You _know_ what happened, Hanson! You were listening. He blew me off completely, acted like I wasn't even there. Well, now when he wants to talk, I _won't_ be there. I've had it!"

She broke away and walked briskly down the hall without bothering to look back. Hanson stared after her for a moment before running his hand through his hair and walking back into Doug's apartment. Doug was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, and he didn't stir at the sound of Tom's footsteps.

"Penhall, go after her."

"Why?"

"She's upset. She loves you, and you know it. Why would she have come back if she didn't?"

Doug's head rose up and he glared at Hanson.

"Get out."


	4. Two Is Better Than One

**A/N: I know this chapter is shorter than the others, and for that I apologise. Here's the final chapter, my lovelies! Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"Doug…I'm worried about you too. Please call me. I need to know that you're alright. I love you."<p>

_I love you._

He replayed the message again and sighed. She sounded so sure of herself. Was Hanson right? Could Dorothy possibly love him, even after all he had done these last few days? He picked up the phone and pressed the buttons down.

"What?"

She was irritated, to be sure, but how would she react when she discovered who was on the other end of the conversation? Only one way to find out.

"Dorothy? It's me."

"Yeah? So?"

He sighed.

"Can we talk?"

"No. We can use sign language, though. We're on the phone, Doug. Of course we can talk."

He smiled to himself.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. I'm sorry. Yes, we can talk."

"Listen, Dorothy. I know I been a jerk, and not just to you, but to everyone. I know I don't deserve it, but would you forgive me?"

There was a long silence from Dorothy and Doug wondered if maybe he had finally pushed her too far. He could just see her with someone else, laughing, smiling and happy and he fought the urge to tell her to forget forgiving him when he heard her sigh on the other end.

"Yeah. I forgive you. But, you really have been a pain in the ass."

He sighed in relief and smiled to himself.

"I know. I'm sorry. Now, would you do something for me?"

"Douglas, you've been treating me like garbage the last four days, you finally call me and get me to accept your crappy apology and then you want _me _to do something for _you_?"

There was a pause, and he could almost see her trying to calm herself down.

"What is it, then?"

He took a deep breath.

"Come home."

On her end of the line, Dorothy smiled, touched by the sincerity and overall tenderness in his voice.

"I'd love to."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, that concludes the adventures of Tom, Doug, and Dorothy (who, by the way, is my favourite character). Reviews are love (and much appreciated)!**


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